Sometimes, The Truth Hurts
by KuRoHiTsUzEn
Summary: Yuui had always been rather timid, and closed himself away from the world after his brother's disappearance. Meeting someone who can somewhat relate to his losses, he slowly starts to come out of his shell. But what is it that the other is hiding?


**A/N: Hey guys! This is something that came to me after watching a certain movie~**

**It was one of those ideas that stuck and just kinda compelled you to write it.**

**K+ for minor-ish swearing towards end.**

**Please don't forget to review! Reviews are greatly appreciated! :D**

* * *

Yuui Fluorite had always been a timid child, the school outcast; keeping to himself and generally avoiding anyone who seemed even remotely interested in him. He rarely ever spoke in public, the majority of times a sound did escape his mouth he was only ever conversing with a certain few people.

Yuui and his twin Fai had lived with their mother, Freya, after their father left. Freya continuously tried her best to stay with them, but soon found she couldn't afford it. Their closest relation, their mother's sister Chii, had offered to help in whatever way possible, Freya decidedly leaving her children in Chii's care and promising to visit whenever she could whilst searching for a job.

She'd died a few weeks later.

Fai's usually flamboyant demeanour had crumpled at the news, making it seem as though his soul had simply evaporated. Yuui found that even he couldn't get Fai back to his previous self, his twin resorting to fake smiles and plastic cheerful attitudes, trying to seem as though he was absolutely peachy. It only made things harder for the younger twin. It had taken Yuui a year to realise that Fai didn't want to live. As soon as he'd confronted his brother about it, the other plastered another fake grin to his face, reassuring Yuui that it was a silly idea, and that he did have a reason to live. Yuui, despite his gut feelings, believed him.

Fai didn't return from club practise the next day.

Kurogane Suwa, on the other hand, had a personality opposite to Yuui's; rude, foul-mouthed and always speaking his mind, he never considered to sugar-coat things.

He had also lost his parents has a child, both his mother and father perishing in a car crash whilst returning home, another car slamming into the driver's side and pushing the vehicle into a power pole. The boy had fretted over where they could have been into the early hours of the morning, completely unaware of the harsh truth that awaited him.

He was then taken into the custody of his cousin Tomoyo's older sister Kendappa, Tomoyo, despite being only a few years younger than the boy, was only half his height. He'd never smiled once since his parent's death, morphing from the enthusiastic 'I-can-do-anything!' child Kendappa had once met into the brooding, bluntly spoken boy he remained to be.

Upon meeting, Kurogane had appointed himself as Yuui's bodyguard, the blonde later deciding the ebony haired boy to be his best friend, and the only person apart from Fai he could count on to be here, and confide in.

There was just one minor problem . . .

* * *

_Summer, July 17th - Grade Three_

The blonde boy huddled himself up in the corner of the room, quietly sobbing into his knees. He didn't expect anyone to try to help him, nor was it what he wanted. His daily crying had become something of a routine for him, teachers and students alike dismissing the problem that had been occurring for the past month; since the disappearance of Fai D. Fluorite. Yuui hadn't spoken since then, eating very little and weighing near nought; seemingly nothing more than skin clinging to bone.

He wanted to be left in solitude, to be left to brood for days on end. So far, he'd gotten what he'd asked for. However, one of the newer students seemed to have another idea.

"Oi."

Yuui kept his head bowed, pretending there wasn't a rather intimidating shadow looming over him.

"_I said_ 'Oi'! What are you, deaf?"

"T-that'd be n-nice . . ."

"You . . . _want_ to be deaf? You're weird."

The lithe boy's head inched up, just enough for him to make eye contact with the other. "You m-mean . . . t-t-the 'I-I c-can't hear y-you' d-deaf?"

"Pfft, _yeah_, you moron!"

The two remained silent, the slighter jumping as a warm hand curled around his shoulder. "You crying?"

"W-what's i-i-it ma . . . matter?"

". . . Did you lose someone too?"

Yuui's head flicked up, his large blue eyes meeting the pain concealed in bright red ones of the other. "Y-yeah . . . M-my n-name's Yu . . . Yuui F-Fluorite . . ."

"Kurogane Suwa, but I prefer being called by my middle name: Youou."

* * *

_Winter, December 13th - Grade Five_

"You don't always have to walk me home, Youou. This is the longer route . . ."

Snorting at Yuui's left, the tanned fifth grader gave his classmate a squinted glare. "But you'll never know if they'd found out about it. And I won't haul your ass back to your house if you get bashed again."

"Yes you would." Flashing the taller boy a gentle smile, Yuui waited expectantly for some form of rebuttal; one that never came. Kurogane Suwa instead huffed, hot breath misting in the winter frost.

"I thought so . . ." The blonde's smile twitched into a barely larger form, his gloved hands grabbing at his thick jacket as he pulled it closer to his being. "But thank you. I like being able to talk this way. Because I like talking to you, but I don't know why."

"I think _I_ like it better when you _shut up_!"

"That's mean! We only really have now and lunch breaks to talk, since we sit at opposite ends of the classroom!"

Kurogane's eyebrows furrowed, his red eyes once again staring down into his classmate's azure pair. "Well it's not like that's my fault, so don't get started with me on that bull!"

Yuui pouted slightly, a trademark the taller boy recognized as one the blonde had said was Fai's. He stopped at a doorstep, calling out to the lithe boy as he kept walking. "Oi! Your house is this one, moron! Remember?"

Yuui glanced over his shoulder, blushing slightly at realising the statement was true. He trudged back through the snow, briefly sticking his tongue out at the crimson eyed boy as he passed, stopping at the door to fish out his key.

"You know, you _really_ need to stop wearing that fluffy-hooded white thing. I keep thinking I'm going to lose you in the snow." Kurogane inwardly cringed at his comment, but mentally claimed it necessary. He would tell the blonde the truth, but he knew then and there wasn't the right time for it.

"You don't have to worry; if I get lost, I'll look for a black splodge." Locks clicking as he turned the key, Yuui took his boots off before entering. "You wanna come inside?"

"Can't. I have to get home too, idiot."

"Then why'd you come with me? You could've just gone straight home."

The taller of the two rolled his eyes, turning on his heel and stomping back the way they'd came. Yuui poked his head out from behind the post of the door's rectangular roof. "'Cause walking with me seems to be a little counter-productive!"

"Whatever, Fluorite!"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Yuui gave a soft giggle, locking the door behind him after disappearing behind its large wooden area.

Kurogane waited for the sound of metal sliding against metal before he sighed; pondering over how much longer he'd have to wait.

* * *

_Spring, April 1st - Form Two_

Carting his school bag along with him, Yuui made his way through the crowded cafeteria in his failing attempt to get outside to his usual spot under the schools largest sakura tree. By the time he'd pushed his way through the doors, wincing slightly at the previously tight fit and minor jolts of pain that shot through his freshly stepped on feet, he crossed the field, smiling at the ancient tree's mass of pink blossoms and deep sepia bark.

He felt he could somehow relate to the tree, due to the fact that every other sakura tree was located at the opposite end of the school grounds, leaving this one completely isolated. It was the same situation for him. He no longer had to worry about people wanting to know him, he was even more of a loner than at elementary. He unfortunately still had to deal with weekly beatings, but he wasn't overly worried about them. He'd honestly gotten used to it.

Yuui halted at the foot of the tree, eyebrows furrowing at the confused and slightly pained expression upon Kurogane's features.

"You've been wearing that face for a few weeks now . . . Is there something wrong?"

"I'm thinking."

"About?"

"Stuff."

"I see . . ." Placing his backpack on the ground before him, the lithe blonde sat himself down beside his tanned friend, staring at the other's idle figure for a few pro-longed moments.

"There isn't something you need to tell me?"

"No. Not yet."

"Huh?" Yuui Fluorite's eyebrows drew closer as the other shook his head, slim bangs waving with the motion.

"Just forget it."

* * *

_Autumn, September 28th - Form Three_

"I can't believe this . . . Really! I mean, it wasn't bad enough that they have to beat me up every other day, but this time they had to go and . . . and . . . just, utterly vandalise my stuff! How am I going to explain this . . ."

"To Chii and Hideki?"

"Yeah . . . It was nice of them to adopt us but . . ." The blonde trailed off. He'd explained his current situation to the ebony haired teen once before, but that one time had been enough. While his aunt and her boyfriend were caring and tried their best to help him, Yuui felt that they weren't so much like family to him as his mother and Fai had been, no matter how scarcely things had gone well for the three. "I just don't want to have to explain the bullying, you know?"

Kurogane gave a soft grunt, eyes still focused on the leaf covered path before them. "They still don't know? They think you're just a clumsy person, right?"

"Yup . . . I really hate hiding things from them, they're such nice people . . . But, I'm worried that they'd be even more hurt if I said it wasn't me tripping over my own feet that left me with all the bruises, too. It's kind of like a double-edged sword."

"No it isn't. You're just thinking too hard. _That's_ one reason why you're an idiot!"

The pale blonde frowned, feeling rather frustrated. "That's not it! Do you even know what I'm meaning?"

The crunching sounds of Kurogane's boots against the dried up leaves stopped, Yuui's foot falls echoing quietly before the blonde followed suit, turning back to face the other. "Youou . . . ?"

Head snapping up, Kurogane glared darkly at the slighter male, stomping off ahead only seconds later, shouting back. "Yeah, actually, I do! And compared to mine, your problem couldn't be even half as bad!"

Taken aback, the blonde stared after his taller classmate, admittedly afraid he may have taken his rambling a little too far.

* * *

_Autumn, November 14th - Form Four_

Hunching over in an attempt not to be seen, the blonde drew his bag straps closer towards himself. His thoughts were racing over several different things, confusing yet all making sense at the same time. He retraced one of his newer homeward routes through his mind, making sure he knew where each turn was. It didn't help him that Kurogane had laid out the route, Yuui having not seen the ebony haired teen for a while now, and he was starting to feel a little worried. Kurogane had simply vanished after the two had gotten into a spat, it ending with the blonde shouting that he'd wish the other would just disappear, Kurogane rebutting that he could quite easily grant that particular request. Now that Yuui reflected on it, he hadn't really meant it. He walked briskly around to the back of the school, glancing over his shoulder every so often, and paused at the beginning of the leaf splattered path.

"YOUOU! If you can hear me, I'm sorry!" Yuui peered around in every direction, continuing after receiving no reaction. "I'd also like to say that I'm going to butcher your name until you start coming back to school! I'm going to come up with as many cutesy nicknames as I can and their all going to start with 'Kuro'!"

"Talking to yourself, Fluorite?"

* * *

Yuui winced at the antiseptic cotton ball dabbing over the cut on his cheek, guilt rising in his throat over how often he was in the room, needing its supplies.

"Yuui-san, how do you get into these messes? Really, I've never had someone in here so many times over the school year." Karate mentor and medical specialist, Souma shook her head lightly. "Same three?"

"Y-yes . . ."

Sighing deeply, Souma set the tongs down, retrieving a band-aid roll and cutting a part off. "You do at least try to avoid them, right? It'd be quite distasteful if you got beaten like this because you went searching for them."

Yuui shook his head furiously, softly adding "They always seem to find me . . ." He gingerly chewed on his bottom lip as the woman smoothed the bandage over his cheek.

"I'd really rather not see you in here again, Yuui-san. Try to be a little more . . . observant, perhaps? I'll have something done about those boys. Are you feeling alright now?"

Giving the tanned teacher a swift nod, the blonde picked up his school bag, hauling it over his shoulder as he turned into the hallway, pausing momentarily at his minor disorientation.

* * *

"Those pansies get you again?"

Yuui's head flicked up, eyes resting upon a tanned, black-clad figure sitting on the front porch of his aunt's house, smirking with a quirked eyebrow.

"For your information Youou, Kyle, Seishirou and Fei Wang are nothing like pansies. For starters, pansies are pretty."

"Where as those three are butt-ugly?"

"_Literally_, especially Fei Wang."

The dark-haired boy let out a low bark of laughter. "Well, people don't earn the name ass-chin for nothing."

"Exactly! And also . . . I'm sorry."

"Tch, apologies ain't my thing. Just leave it."

"In other words; you don't care if I apologise, 'cause you won't anyway."

Kurogane shrugged a shoulder, picking himself up off the porch. "Whatever, Fluorite."

Yuui passed the taller male, unlocking the front door and pulling off his boots, turning around just before Kurogane had rounded the post. "By the way, I have something for you!"

Kurogane Suwa flashed the blonde a quizzical look, an eyebrow arching in the process.

"Actually, I thought 'em up on the way home! Five of them!"

"Five of what . . . ?"

Yuui plastered on a large grin. "Why, five new names for you, _Kurogane_! They're Kuro-tan, Kuro-puu, Kuro-sama, Kuro-wanko, and Kuro-ruu~!"

The blonde tried and failed to stifle a giggle at Kurogane's flabbergasted expression, bolting for the door as the other's facial features rearranged into that of someone with malicious ideas and the resolve to kill.

* * *

_Winter, December 31st - 11:23pm_

"Yuui, it's nearing midnight."

Peering over his shoulder, Yuui smiled softly at his aunt. "Okay, just gimme a few seconds." He returned his gaze to the window, staring at the starlight cobalt of the sky. It was the first time in a long time he'd been able to view the nightly heavens without having pain stabbing at his heart. It'd been one of Fai's favourite things to do; stay up into the late hours of the night, just staring . . . The lithe blonde collected himself up off of the floor, scaling the stairs down into the crowded living room of Chii and Hideki's home. It was something of a joint celebration; for both the New Year and Hideki finally managing to gather up the courage to propose to Chii, the dark blonde having agreed instantly. Every visitor chatted with another, save for a rather dark silhouette sitting outside. Making his way through the masses, Yuui sat himself down on the backyard porch beside the other.

"It's pretty cold out, why aren't you inside?"

"Why aren't you?" Kurogane quirked an eyebrow at the blonde, who shrugged in response.

"You looked lonely. Besides, it's too crowded in there."

"Hnn . . ." They sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the mixed sentences floating from the living room.

"It wouldn't matter if I went inside either way. I still wouldn't talk to anyone, and I'd still go unnoticed."

Yuui frowned, staring at the other's glazed expression. "Of course they'd _notice_ you, they just wouldn't _talk_ to you since you're so grumpy all the time."

"Guess again."

The slighter laughed shakily, clueless. "You're starting to confuse me . . . Why wouldn't people see you? I can see you just fine." Yuui shook a hand in front of Kurogane's face, as if trying to prove his point.

"To them, I don't exist."

"That's absurd."

"It's not, actually. Especially when you're imaginary."

"I-imaginary . . . ?" Releasing a heavy sigh, Kurogane turned to Yuui, somewhat relieved that he could finally get what had been pulling at him for the last seven years off of his chest.

"Yeah. I'm only as real as your imagination deems me, which means I'm real to you only. But, because of your unusually configured mind, I'm more of a separate figure but still joined, if that makes sense. Like I can only touch things while you're around or at least something along those lines. Otherwise I'd just pass through it. I'm not a solid, living being like you are. I don't need to eat, sleep or even breathe. My background story was woven together by you, using people you'd met once or twice. It wouldn't matter what angle this is viewed from, I'm still a piece of a supposedly malfunctioning part of your brain, created by you to help you get over Fai's disappearance. Took you a good nine years, but you've finally managed to accept it. Now that I've served my purpose, I've started to fade; because you don't need me any more."

Words tumbling out of his mouth in an array of questions and protests, the blonde tried to string together a sentence that made sense.

"Just let it go. The course is set; end of story."

"B-but . . . I- y-you . . . you can't go. I-I'll be o-on my own again . . ."

The ebony haired teen shrugged nonchalantly, crimson eyes falling to met azure. "Not if you get yourself some friends. _Real_ ones. Like the two guys who have that comedy act and the frizzy haired girl who's always with them. Or even that kid with the girlfriend complex. I don't know, but you don't have any another choices!"

"I can't . . . I-it'd be like . . . It'd b-be similar to l-losing Fai all over again, and I can't deal with that!"

"You never will if you keep _saying_ you can't! Besides, I'll be long gone by midnight."

Yuui scowled, an expression he rarely made, soaking in the information bit by bit, mumbling into his jeans. "Everything _always_ disappears at midnight . . ."

Chuckling lowly, Kurogane smirked at the blonde's comment. "Tch, yeah. Clichéd ain't it?"

"Just a little . . . Midnight . . . That means that there's only a few more minutes left, doesn't it?"

"Maybe less. I'm already becoming transparent."

Lifting his head off of his knees, the blonde teen caught the other raising a hand, the white outdoor furniture blurry, yet noticeable through the limb.

"You . . . you want m-me to just . . . let it go?"

"Only just noticed that, huh?"

"Fine. But, I have one condition."

The grey and black clad teen rolled his eyes, an eyebrow arching in annoyance. "What?"

Throwing his arms around the other's torso, Yuui grew a tiny smile at Kurogane's spluttered protest. "My condition . . . is that you let me stay like this until you're gone."

"Fff . . ."

The blonde had no concept of how much time passed, the only thing registering in his mind was the shape of Kurogane's torso vanishing between his arms, until he felt barely anything there, a light pressure falling over his shoulders.

"Let go."

Whatever remaining presence there had been vanished after those two words, Yuui curling his arms round his shoulders, bringing his left hand to where he could've sworn a hand had briefly rested, small tears welling up in his azure eyes.

Yuui hadn't realised how much time had passed until the sky was a shade lighter, signalling the dawn of a new day. Faint tear tracks lay upon his cheeks, the last remnants of the year before. He wiped them away with his sleeve, arms sliding from his shoulders to his elbows as he stood, admiring the pale magenta painted across the horizon. He turned for the sliding door, hands inching slowly to his sides, entering the living room and sliding the door closed behind him.

It was then that Yuui Fluorite finally found the resolve to leave the past behind.

* * *

_Spring, May 23rd - Form Six_

"Yuui-kun!"

Rushing towards the blonde seated at their group's usual table in the middle of the cafeteria, Sakura's fluffy hair waving in every direction as she stopped in front of him, bouncing on her toes and her face an astounding shade of red. "-"

"Sakura-chan, try breathing! I'm not going anywhere, so you don't have to say everything in one mouthful. Just take a few deep breaths. Better? Okay, let's try again. What's gotten you so flustered?"

"Syaoran-kun! He asked me to the dance and then to dinner afterwards . . ." The auburn haired girl fell back heavily onto the bench, off in a world of her own. She remanded oblivious to Yuui's soft chuckle.

"Hey guys!"

"How's it going?"

"Yo."

Watanuki glared at the taller male beside him, placing his food tray on the table. "'Yo'? What kind of greeting is that? You could've at least said 'hi' to them, you moronic oaf!"

Doumeki plugged a finger into his ear, going about his usual routine of ignoring the other as he rambled on, Himawari giggling at their 'comedy routine' and glancing at Sakura. "Sakura-chan, is everything alright?"

"Everything's perfect, Himawari-chan!" The emerald eyed girl swivelled around to face the group, staring dreamily at the ceiling behind Watanuki's head a few seconds later.

"Having just spoken of a Syaoran-kun, where are they? And Tomoyo-chan hasn't arrived yet either." Yuui peered over the group, scouting out for signs of the three.

"You called?" Popping up beside Yuui, Syaoron smirked at the blonde's quiet yelp of surprise.

"U-um . . . Hi. W-where's your brother?"

The brunette shrugged a shoulder. "He's still in that whole I-can't-believe-I-actually-asked-her-out thing, so he might be a while."

"I'm not that slow . . . A-and I-I have gotten o-over the a-asked her out t-thing! O-our class was j-just . . . buzzing a little more today." Syaoran frowned at his brother, popping up at Yuui's other side.

"Why's that?" Himawari asked, still giggling as Watanuki continued to change his rant topic.

"W-we have a new homeroom teacher and a few new students. Um . . . our homeroom teacher's now someone by the name of . . . uh, Ichihara-sensei, I think. She seems a little . . . wilder than all the other teachers . . . A-and the new students are just over there. They're both, uh . . . loud."

"Loud? Hmm . . . Ne, Sakura-chan. Syaoran-kun's here."

"H-hoe? O-oh, h-h-hi . . ." The girl gave him a sweet smile, blush returning far brighter than before, shuffling to allow him to sit next to her. Syaoron's smirk grew wider as the other brunette boy sat next to Sakura, each blushing equally as bright.

"Who are the new students in your class, Syaoran-kun? Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention . . ." Watanuki scratched the back of his head, glancing at the other apologetically. "You said they were just over there? Which wer- WAAAH!" Watanuki backed into Doumeki as two deep blue eyes appeared before him as he spun around, the other glancing at him stoically while he glared at him.

"We are! Ne, Syaoran-kun, are these your friends? Wow, this is quite a group!"

"U-um, yeah. W-well, you've met my brother, Syaoron-"

"-That's spelt with _two_ o's people!"

"-and then we have . . . T-this is Sakura-chan."

"Eh? O-oh, it's n-nice to meet you! S-sorry, I'm a little out of it . . ." The emerald eyed girl smiled apologetically, remaining as cute as she always appeared. The shorter of the newer two smiled back, the taller giving a swift nod, and eyebrow arched.

"My name's Himawari! It's nice to meet you both!"

"W-Watanuki . . ."

"Doumeki."

"Daidouji Tomoyo."

"H-H-HOE? T-Tomoyo-chan! W-when'd you get here?"

The dark haired girl smiled sweetly over the other girl's shoulder, giggling lightly in the process. "Naturally, I only just arrived, Sakura-chan."

Yuui picked absently at his food, thoughts drifting elsewhere through the introductions, forgetting about his own.

"Name's Kurogane Suwa. But I prefer Youou."

Frowning slightly, the blonde looked up from his meal, plastic fork slipping from his hand as he sluggishly took in the double-dose of bare truth that stood right in front of him.

"And my name's Fai D. Fluorite! It's great meeting you all!" Fai's arms rose, waving back and forth in a large waving motion. His closed eyes opened halfway, widening fully after a brief second, his ear-to-ear grin vanishing. "Y . . . Yuui? YUUI!"

The blonde muttered 'excuse me' several times as he stepped onto the table, crossing it in one jump before sliding his arms across Yuui's shoulders, pushing them both onto the ground behind.

"Yuui~! How have you been lately? Hyuu, it's been such a long time! I'm really sorry I disappeared like that, but I meet this really nice person named Ashura after I left and he really, really helped me out! He's been looking after me since I left, and he's kinda like a dad! Oh yeah, and I just transferred here! Oh, wait; you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah, and i-it's nice to see you too, Fai, but w-was that table stunt necessary? You could've just walked around it . . ."

Fai pouted, eyebrows furrowing cutely, making Yuui wonder whose expression out of Fai's or Sakura's would turn out cuter. "That's not much of a hello! We haven't seen each other for, oh, I don't know, ten, eleven years and that's all you have to say? That's really insulting, Yuui . . . But never mind, I'll probably forgive you later. And, yes, actually, it was totally necessary! I'd walk through anything for my brother!"

"Even lava?"

". . . Well, maybe not _anything_, but you get the idea!" Fai let out a loud meow, nuzzling his feathery blonde covered head into his brother's neck. "Hey, Yuui, did you grow your hair?"

Tomoyo smiled, chuckling to herself. "Seems we have another set of twins in the group . . ."

Fai's eyes widened, his mile-long grin returning as he rolled off his brother and helped him back onto his seat before running over to the tanned teen he previously stood by.

"Oooh, and Yuui, this is Kuro-sama!"

"KURO-SAMA MY ASS! MY NAME'S KUROGANE, YOU FUCKING IMBECILE! And I've already introduced myself!" The taller swiped at the blonde, pursuing the lithe male as he ran around the group's usual table in a fit of giggles.

"Ne, Fai," Yuui smiled softly at Fai, the other blonde's head turning in various directions as he remained moving.

"Yeah?"

"Kuro-wanko."

Fai halted in his tracks, grin glowing several watts brighter at his twin's comment. "Oh my God, Yuui, I didn't think it was possible to love you even more! You're a GENIUS! . . . Why didn't I think of that?"

Fai mewled again as he was wrenched up by his shirt collar, Kurogane throwing him over his shoulder before turning to Yuui. "Don't you _dare_ start calling me by those goddamned names!"

"Wasn't planning to, Youou."

Fai's head popped up from behind Kurogane's black-clad shoulder, his smile still present and a forearm resting on the other's head. "But that's no fun at all! Oh well, Kuro-wan's giving me a free ride!"

Upon hearing this, Kurogane, naturally, decided it in his best interest to drop the blonde, the lanky blue-clad teen rolling haphazardly off of his shoulder and landing on his rear. "Wah, Kuro-wanko! That hurt!"

"It was supposed to!"

"Why are you so mean to me? All I do is give you nicknames to show I care!"

"_If_ you cared, you _wouldn't_ give me nicknames!"

Stooping down to Fai's level, Yuui and Syaoron both helped the flamboyant blonde up. "Fai, maybe he'd be nicer to you if you stopped . . . well, patronising him."

"Yuui, I'm hurt! How could you say that, you're supposed to be on my side!"

"I'm not; I'm in the middle, which is worse than being on either."

The blonde continued to gape at his twin, the taller ebony-haired male simply shrugging, signalling that he didn't care, the brunette figuring that he didn't really have to be there anymore, but not moving an inch anyway.

All three made a different sound -a squeak, a 'gak' and a 'wha-'-, blinking as Yuui pulled each closer to himself -not having meant to pull Syaoron into it- and creating a rather awkward four-person hug. Fai was the first to recover, following his brother's example by returning the gesture.

"Group hug!"

"Uh . . ."

"Why the hell are you hugging me?"

Yuui's smile grew, his forehead resting on Fai's right shoulder while a soft hum escaped his lips at the three way conversation flowing above his head.

_I think I understand it now . . . neither of you really left._

* * *

**A/N: I was tossing over whether to leave this at the New Year's section, and add the sixth form bit afterwards as an epilogue sort of thing, but I've decided to leave it as is for now. ^ ^**

**And I apologise for any OOCness!**

**And strangely, the movie that inspired this was Drop Dead Fred. Yup. Or, the imaginary friend concept anyways. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's an older movie, but it is very funny! :3**

**That's all from me today~ ^ ^**


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